Retired Oil Rigs Could Create New Coral Reefs and Scuba Diving Sites

Published: 11-May-11 09:17:54
Source: Monsters and Critics
Author: Anna
Related: 10-Apr-10 23:11:09

After the HMAS Adelaide warship was recently sunk off at Avoca Beach near Sydney to create a diving attraction, marine scientists are keen to do the same to deep-sea oil rigs instead of cutting them up for scrap so that they can become scuba diving sites

Hundreds of new scuba diving sites could be created if retired oil rigs are left where they are in the ocean instead of being cut up for scrap metal.

Marine scientists believe that the deep-sea oil rigs could help replenish fish stocks as artificial reef and attract a wealth of marine species, as well as save the oil and gas industry millions of dollars in decommissioning costs.

The rigs would also help create make fantastic scuba diving sites as artificial reefs can take form around them and would attract many tourists and professional divers to scuba diving holidays in new destinations around the world . The diving sites could then provide further marine information for research carried out by marine scientists.

University of Technology Sydney researcher, Peter Macreadie, said that there are more than 6,000 rigs currently in operation which will one day need decommissioning.

“They've reached the end of their production life, there's no more oil left and the question is "What do we do with these structures?", he explained.

“Current legislation requires rigs to be dismantled and removed and recycled onshore if they can be recycled, but we're actually starting to think maybe there's a much better use for those rigs and in some cases there actually isn't the technology to remove these rigs.”

Divers will soon be given a new site to explore while scuba diving in Australia after the HMAS Adelaide warship was sunk off Avoca Beach, 100km north of Sydney.

With the passing of time, the sunken warship will become an artificial reef and a new diving site for professional and recreational scuba divers. The alternative to sinking this old warship was to cut it up and use it for scrap metal.

Fortunately, fish cannot differentiate between natural and artificial reefs and this could be a great way to help replenish marine systems across the world. Australia is home to some of the best scuba diving sites in the world with the Great Barrier Reef as its main scuba diving destination.

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